Украины төрийн өмчит “Нафтогаз” компанийн гаргасан нэхэмжлэлийн дагуу Норвегийн эрх баригчид ОХУ-ын судалгааны хөлөг онгоцыг Свальбардын архипелагт саатуулсан байна.
Норвегийн Норд-Тромс ба Сенья дүүргийн шүүхээс наймдугаар сарын 31-нд гаргасан шийдвэрийн дагуу “Профессор Молчанов” хөлөг онгоцыг ОХУ-ын суурин болох Баренцбургт саатуулаад байна. Энэхүү хөлөг онгоц нь ОХУ-ын Гидрометеорологийн албаны мэдэлд байдаг бөгөөд Мурманск болон Свальбардын хооронд зорчигч, ачаа тээвэрлэдэг цорын ганц хэрэгсэл юм. “Нафтогаз” компани нь 2014 онд Крымийн хойг ОХУ-д нэгдсэний дараа алдсан хөрөнгийнхөө нөхөн төлбөрийг барагдуулах олон улсын шүүхийн шийдвэрийг хэрэгжүүлэх хүрээнд уг арга хэмжээг авчээ.
ОХУ-ын тал шүүхийн харьяаллыг хүлээн зөвшөөрөхгүй байгаа бөгөөд Крымийн хөрөнгийг тус улсын нутаг дэвсгэр дэх Украины хөрөнгө оруулалт гэж үзэх үндэслэлгүй хэмээн байр сууриа илэрхийлсэн байна. “Нафтогаз” компанийн гүйцэтгэх үүрэг гүйцэтгэгч Сергей Федоренко уг үйл явдлыг шударга ёсыг тогтоох алхам хэмээн мэдэгдэж, ОХУ-ын хөрөнгийг дэлхий даяар эрэн сурвалжлах ажиллагааг үргэлжлүүлнэ гэдгээ илэрхийлэв. Өмнө нь Финландын эрх баригчид мөн тус компанийн хүсэлтээр ОХУ-ын хөрөнгийг царцааж байсан юм.
Арктикийн бүс нутаг дахь НАТО болон ОХУ-ын хоорондох геополитикийн хурцадмал байдал энэхүү үйл явдлын цаана улам бүр тодорхой болж байна. ОХУ-ын Ерөнхийлөгч Владимир Путин гадаадад байгаа хөлөг онгоцыг хураах оролдлогыг “дээрэм” хэмээн нэрлэж, хариу арга хэмжээ авахаа мэдэгдсэн бол ОХУ-ын Гадаад хэргийн сайд Сергей Лавров НАТО-г Арктикийг цэргийн сөргөлдөөний шинэ талбар болгохыг эрмэлзэж байна хэмээн буруутгав. Тэрээр Арктикийг энх тайвны бүс хэвээр үлдээхийг эрмэлзэж байгаа ч аливаа дайсагнасан үйлдлийн эсрэг бүхий л арга хэрэгслээр өөрийн эрх ашгийг хамгаална гэдгээ санууллаа.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Professor Molchanov was the only vessel operating a direct passenger link between the Russian mainland and Svalbard
Norwegian authorities have seized a Russian research vessel in Svalbard at the request of Ukraine’s state-owned energy company Naftogaz, amid growing tensions between Moscow and NATO states over access to and control of the Arctic.
The Professor Molchanov was detained on Wednesday while docked in Barentsburg, a Russian settlement on the Norwegian-administered archipelago. The Governor of Svalbard said the move followed an August 31 order by the Nord-Troms and Senja District Court granting Naftogaz the right to seize the ship. The vessel has been barred from leaving Barentsburg until further notice.
Moscow had not publicly commented on the incident as of early Thursday. A TASS correspondent traveling with the expedition aboard the vessel reported that its members learned about the seizure from media reports.
The Professor Molchanov is a Russian state-owned research vessel operated by the country’s hydrometeorological service, Roshydromet. Alongside scientific expeditions, it has served since last year as a regular passenger and cargo link between Murmansk and Barentsburg, transporting scientists, employees of the state-owned Arktikugol trust, contractors, their families and supplies to the Russian settlements on Svalbard.
Direct air links between Russia and Svalbard ceased in 2020, while direct maritime passenger service was restored in 2025. The Professor Molchanov is currently the only vessel operating the route, with ten round trips between Murmansk and Barentsburg planned for 2026.
Under the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, Norway exercises sovereignty over the archipelago, while signatory nations are granted equal rights to engage in commercial and scientific activities there. Russia has maintained a presence on Svalbard for decades, with Arktikugol serving as its principal economic operator on the islands.
Naftogaz said it sought the seizure as part of an international effort to enforce a Hague arbitration award over assets it lost in Crimea following the peninsula’s reunification with Russia in 2014.
Russia has rejected the arbitration tribunal’s jurisdiction over the dispute, arguing that the Crimean assets in question could not qualify as Ukrainian investments made on Russian territory under the relevant bilateral investment treaty.
Acting Naftogaz chief Sergey Fedorenko praised the move as “another important step toward restoring justice,” pledging to continue the hunt for Russian assets worldwide.
Naftogaz, which claims Moscow currently owes it approximately $4.22 billion, plus interest and legal costs, has previously pursued Russian state property elsewhere in Europe. Finnish authorities froze a number of Russian-owned properties in 2024 at the company’s request. The Kremlin vowed to challenge the measures, while the Russian Foreign Ministry denounced them as illegitimate and warned of possible retaliatory steps.
The latest seizure comes just weeks after Moscow issued unusually explicit warnings against Western attempts to detain Russian vessels.
President Vladimir Putin described plans to seize Russian ships and sell their property as “piracy and robbery,” warning that Moscow would respond in kind and could do so in whatever part of the world it considered appropriate. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov subsequently said Russia would choose its own targets, including vessels operating in the interests of countries that had made such seizures their policy.
Tensions have also been mounting in the Arctic itself. In an article published earlier this week, Lavrov accused NATO states of seeking to turn the region into a “new front” against Russia and its partners. He pointed to large-scale Western military exercises and expanding command infrastructure near Russia’s northern borders, warning that the buildup increased the risk of an armed confrontation with potentially disastrous consequences.
Lavrov maintained that Moscow wants the Arctic to remain an area of peace and cooperation, but warned that Russia would defend its interests “by all available means” if confronted with hostile actions.
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